Accepted into the Australian Institute of Sport on a scholarship in 1984, Simon Upton went on to enjoy a stellar sporting career. He represented the Australian national swimming team from 1984 to 1992, competing in numerous international competitions, the pinnacle being his participation at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

On retirement from the sport, Simon focused on pursuing another full-time passion: photography. This new vocation took him to Europe, initially to Holland before he moved across the continent ahead of a five-year stint in New York. Once in the Big Apple, Simon began to build a steady client portfolio working for several noted international titles.

Over the last 15 years, he has established himself as one of Australia’s most in-demand fashion and portrait photographers and he continues to collaborate with many leading magazines and advertising agencies including Elle, Marie Claire, L’Officiel and Harper’s Bazaar, in addition to shooting campaigns for respected companies such as Sportscraft, Westfield, Portmans, Super, Elixir, Seed, Oroton, Myer, Specsavers, Politix, Bonds, Omega and Model Co.

Owing to his location expertise, Simon travels regularly on behalf of international publications. Eagerly sought after by a growing list of influencers, he continues to evolve both in his use of light and his ability to make the subjects whom he photographs feel a certain sense of ease, thus creating an intimacy which has become synonymous with his style of work. Some of the local and International celebrities Simon has worked with over the last few years have included Elle Macpherson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Milla Jovovich, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Watts and Cate Blanchett.

Simon retains his love of the water. He has always surfed and when time permits spends as much time as he can in the ocean, often with one of his two young sons.